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64 SC Beater

Posted: Sun Oct 27, 2013 4:48 pm
by Dave Erickson
This being my first post on the forum, I'll start with an intro. I'm newly retired, with a metal shop and a 64 SC beater, or project car. The shop is well equipped, both for making tools and for engine repair (Deckel CNC & manual mills, Monarch lathes, Harig surface grinder, Sioux valve refacer, Hall planetary seat grinder, TIG welder). I spent the last 20 yrs commuting to Silicon Valley, where I worked as a software engineer, and the 64 SC has been under a tarp since 2002, awaiting time to begin restoration, since it was just one of many projects needing substantial investments of time. I drove it occasionally for 15 years and did my own maintenance. I replaced/rebuilt all the running gear (incl tie rods, steering gear, king pins, disk brake calipers, etc.), rebuilt the battery box floor and repaired pinhole leaks in the drivers side floor. It was getting close to needing a valve job, so trips in it became fewer, until the clutch froze solid, which is what motivated leaving it in storage until I had time to rebuild the engine. It is an original CA car, first sold in San Francisco, purchased from the second owner, a Fresno dentist. Prior to working in SV, I worked as a mechanic at Wester Porsche-Audi back when it was owned by Don Wester (mid 70's). Prior to that, I had my own business rebuilding VW engines in Berkeley (late 60's). All of which is ancient history at this point.

After spending some time reading articles on this forum, I feel like I've just stepped out of a time warp. Lots has changed since I last did any work on the coupe, and I will need to re-acquire a lot of information to do an effective restoration. I'm hoping this is the place to ask questions, and I am sure I will have many. Next post will include some photos of the 64 coupe and a bit more about the problems it has that lead me to call it a beater.

Dave

Re: 64 SC Beater

Posted: Sun Oct 27, 2013 5:24 pm
by Adam Wright
Dave, post some current and period pics, sounds like you have a cool history.

Re: 64 SC Beater

Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 10:18 pm
by mark bibler
Hi Dave and welcome to the Registry. I think you will find that if you address your questions over in the Main Topic section, you will get a better response. Everyone here is incredibly helpful and no question is too trivial. You mentioned you worked at Wester Porsche. Was that when they were on Del Monte Blvd? I remember riding my bike down to that small showroom when I was a kid living on the Salinas Hwy. My dad bought a VW there in 1962. A Porsche was out of the question in those days. Mark

Re: 64 SC Beater

Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 1:24 am
by Dave Erickson
Hi Mark,
The years I worked at Wester were 1973-1974, just after the move to the Auto Center in Seaside. But many of the mechanics I worked with originally worked on Del Monte Blvd, and I went there many times as a customer. The Auto Center location was a nice, new shop. I worked in a 4-stall bay adjacent to the sales and office building, with two empty stalls. During the week preceding the 1973 Can-Am races, those stalls were occupied by the 917-30 raced by Roger Penske and driven by Mark Donohue, and I got very little work done. It was an experience I will never forget.

Dave

Re: 64 SC Beater

Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 11:26 am
by Greg Bryan
Dave - welcome to the forum
I think a lot of us are envious of the shop equipment you have
Keep us up to date on your progress - it will provide inspiration to other languishing projects!

Re: 64 SC Beater

Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 4:08 pm
by mark bibler
Hi Dave...cool stuff. Hopefully you saved a few Wester Porsche license brackets. Did you know guy named Mike Curtis at Wester? Colorful character I knew in high school I heard he worked in sales there about that time period. Mark

Re: 64 SC Beater

Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 10:49 pm
by Dave Erickson
Mark, Mike Curtis was a good friend. I haven't seen him in years. I bought two cars from him back in the day, a 914 and a cherry 60 VW bug.

I have three Wester license plate frames, I wish I had more. I still have a stack of Wester oil change door jamb stickers - stop by and I will give you some.

Dave

Re: 64 SC Beater

Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2013 12:38 am
by mark bibler
What a small world. I would love to see your shop, but moved to Encinitas (No. San Diego) in the 80s. Great memories of growing up on that Salinas Hwy. you must have driven daily. Had a girlfriend who's dad owned a 914 when I was at MPC in 1971. I took the back way into Laguna Seca (by York School) and snuck onto the track and a few laps all alone until the MPs ran us out. What a thrill that was. Again, welcome to the Registry. Regards, Mark

Re: 64 SC Beater

Posted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 9:24 pm
by Dave Erickson
The slippery slope begins ...

Re: 64 SC Beater

Posted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 10:17 pm
by Dave Erickson
More pictures of the drivers side repairs.

Re: 64 SC Beater

Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 10:15 am
by WilliamVaughan
Neither the entry step joint nor the fender joint behind the window are original. Not a bad job though. Cracks due to paint shrinking and pulling tight as it loses its solvent content. Hole in bell housing is there specifically to allow nuts to be stored in that space.

Re: 64 SC Beater

Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 6:23 pm
by Dave Erickson
Robert, thanks for stopping by. It will be interesting to see what shows up when the paint is removed.

The driver's door needs work, photos attached.
Leading edge of driver's door.  From the front it is apparent that the door is not aligned with the front or rear fender and will need some work.
Leading edge of driver's door. From the front it is apparent that the door is not aligned with the front or rear fender and will need some work.
Leading edge of drivers door.  The gap looks ok from the side.
Leading edge of drivers door. The gap looks ok from the side.
Bottom of driver's door has rust issues.  I'm considering using electrolytic rust removal on the door bottom followed by zinc plating.  Both are easy to do with a plastic tub, battery charger, some sodium carbonate and some zinc chloride (with zinc anode and ammonium chloride).
Bottom of driver's door has rust issues. I'm considering using electrolytic rust removal on the door bottom followed by zinc plating. Both are easy to do with a plastic tub, battery charger, some sodium carbonate and some zinc chloride (with zinc anode and ammonium chloride).
Drivers side from rear.
Drivers side from rear.

Re: 64 SC Beater

Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2013 9:45 pm
by WilliamVaughan
You are getting pulled in.

Be carefull. If you were to try to do what you propose to a door bottom then first you would have to disassemble the door and clean off the paint and bondo. Then you would be horrified with what you found. Then you would feel that perhaps the door skin should be replaced at least at the bottom. And of course, in sympathy the door bottoms would likely have rust pin holes too. And before long you would start exploring the rust in the front of the doors. And then you wouldn't be able to drive the car for years.

Re: 64 SC Beater

Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2013 10:59 pm
by Dave Erickson
Robert, thanks for stopping by.

Actually its worse than that. I also have been thinking about the possibility of using something on the order of a small plastic wading pool as a bath to do electrolytic rust removal and zinc plating on a large scale. I have previously used plastic garbage cans for this, and see no reason why I can't up the scale a bit and dip the floor pan and do it the same way. This is a ways off, I need to finish the engine and transmission, build a rotisserie and do some body work before I get to it, but it is something I am considering. Hopefully somebody else will take this thought and run with it before I get to it.

When I use a garbage can for electrolytic rust removal, I have a large (18" x 30") stainless steel piece that I use as the cathode, which generates an even current density and produces excellent results on parts the size of engine sheetmetal. For zinc plating, I use several smaller sheets (12x12) of 99% pure zinc located around the periphery of the garbage can, that I use as the anode.

The last time I repainted the 356C engine sheetmetal, which was about 12 years ago, I used electrolytic rust removal, then painted with a phosphate bath, then repainted with Krylon or Stoddard's rattle can paint (for the light grey on the fan housing and oil cannister). The car has been sitting outside the entire time since, and the paint job is intact, even at the corners. So I am a believer in electrolytic rust removal. My concern with applying it to an assembled Porsche body is that there are a lot of seams, and I do not know from any first hand experience whether the electrolytic rust removal will work well in a tight space. However, if acid dipping works in areas where metals are in close contact, then electrolytic rust removal will work there too, and won't leave the oozing seams.

Regarding zinc plating body panels, it seems that Detroit bought into the idea a couple of decades ago at least. So why not zinc plate 356 bodies (at least for 12") as part of a restoration? The chemical and electrical requirements are not so difficult to provide that it cannot be done in a well equipped restoration shop. If you take the body, clean it and repair it, then electrolytically remove the rust, and finally zinc plate, the work will last a long time.

However, this is all a big If. My plan is still to do everything one step at a time. First the engine, then the transmission, then the rotisserie, then the drivers side body work. When that is done, I'll consider the remaining options.

Re: 64 SC Beater

Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 12:03 pm
by WRGREENE
Dave, sounds like you have a plan... are you located here in the bay area? i am in the middle of rebuilding my 60 T5... took it down to metal, epoxy prim., now paint. love to see your operation. wayne -aptos